A prominent Bindura-based lawyer, Elatone Bonongwe, has been sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison after being convicted of masterminding a violent robbery that left a senior rural district council official seriously injured.
Bonongwe was initially sentenced to 20 years, with five years suspended on condition that he does not commit a similar offence within the next five years.
He was convicted alongside five accomplices Musa Gandi, Agnes Kunaka, Terrence Musingwimi, Justin James, and Tafadzwa Obrey Chipashu for orchestrating and executing the attack.
The robbery occurred in October 2023 at the Mt Darwin residence of Emson Chitsungo, where the gang, armed with an AK-47 rifle, a bayonet and iron rods, carried out a coordinated assault.
Court proceedings revealed that Bonongwe identified the target and provided critical intelligence to the gang. The attackers ransacked the house and stole cash along with electrical gadgets valued at approximately US$30 000.
During the attack, Engineer Chitsungo sustained serious injuries, including a broken arm and swollen soles.
The case was heard before High Court Judge Pisirayi Kwenda, who ruled that Bonongwe played a central role in planning and directing the crime.
In passing the sentence, the court highlighted the gravity of the offence, the level of premeditation involved, and the breach of professional ethics.
The judge emphasised that Bonongwe’s actions, as a legal practitioner, represented a serious abuse of trust and undermined public confidence in the justice system.
